2009-05-20 - Press2Play Interview
Dead by April was interviewed on May 20, 2009 for the Swedish website Press2Play. The entire band participated in the interview although Marcus didn't say a word except for his name. Topics they covered were among others the Robinson commerical, Jimmie's scream techniques, tattoos and the upcoming Sonisphere show with Metallica. The interview showed clips from the Losing You ''video. Script : ''The interview was done in Swedish and is therefore translated into English. Q: Dead by April, it's May and you are still alive? Pontus Hjelm: Yeah, exactly. Q: Where does the name come from? Pontus Hjelm: It alludes to the contrasts in our music. Death for the little more harsh and evil and April for the more beautiful. Q: 'You're single Losing You have been the soundtrack for the ''Robinson trailer. Have you met any difference that you've got a wider and bigger audience for it? '''Pontus Hjelm: Yes, we have undeniably noticed that. We have received a lot of new fans who did not know that we existed before. Absolutely. Q: You'll play with Metallica at Sonisphere. How does it feel? Pontus Hjelm: It feels absolutely amazing of course. It is still hard to grasp something like that. You see it on Myspace but you can't believe that you'll actually stand on that stage in front of that ocean of people. Q: How do you scream so much as you do without destroying the voice? ''' '''Jimmie Strimell: The only real advice is that you must at least initially, until it flows, keep it running all the time. When I started being serious about it I stood in a room by myself with songs on a mp3 and screamed. I stood and shouted until it came through. In the beginning, maybe you managed three songs and then was totally screwed until you rested. Then I drove on, drove on, drove on and eventually you could keep running for fifteen-sixteen songs. Q: Do you need a chest support, or is it something you should consider? Jimmie Strimell: I use all the way from the toes till the stomach, the entire body. Q: Many of you have some tattoos. Does anyone have any that they are particularly proud of or want to tell us about it? Jimmie Strimell: I have a tattoo that I did when I got my first son, here it is. The rose with his name up here. His name is Liam. Johan Olsson: It's "mother and father" in this case as is, but no, everybody has a personal meaning for me. Something that reflects a period, a thought or a feeling that they had then. So everyone means something and reflects a time when you did them. Of course all are important, it's part of one's body. Alex has his Buddhist wheel there. Alexander Svenningson: It's the wheel of Dharma. Q: The way of life? Alexander Svenningson: Yes, exactly, in Buddhism. I think that Buddhism has much to offer, so to speak. Q: What do you look forward to now? You've just released a record and have a tour coming up and to play along with Metallica; there's a lot going on. What feels most fun, what are you looking forward to? Jimmie Strimell: Most of it feels like fun, I think. But this festival with Metallica is for me completely incomprehensible. It's something that I really dreamed of when I was 13-14. Playing with Metallica, meet Metallica. Q: Do you think about it everyday and tries to visualize it in front of you? Jimmie Strimell: Yes, at least I do. Pontus Hjelm: For me it's the opposite. If I think about the festival now I will not be able to sleep until then. Notes *The interview was done only one week after the release of the first album. *John was unusually quiet during the interview. He was usually the band's spokemen.